Disclaimer – I own nothing of RENT, just my original characters. Everything else belongs to Jonathon Larson. 'Nuff said.
Italics are thoughts and flashbacks
A/N: I have no idea where this fic came from – it just sort of hit me.
Summary: AU: Maureen and Joanne are lonely, so they decide to adopt a dog, seeing as they're both dog people. My first attempt at a MoJo story. ONE-SHOT. Takes place in 2009.
Genre: General/None
Rating: T
It was at the Life Café when Maureen announced it.
"Honey, are you sure?" Joanne asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
"I've never been more sure of anything, Pookie." Maureen told her partner, holding her hands.
"You know that a dog is a HUGE responsibility, don't you?" Joanne inquired.
"I know – we had dogs growing up – my parents bred Labs." Maureen told her partner as they exited the Life.
"Let's talk to the others about this crazy idea." Joanne suggested, taking Maureen's hand in hers.
"What others? Collins and Angel moved to Harlem, Mimi died five years ago, Mark is out in Arizona with his family and new career and Roger is touring the world with his band. I don't care about Benny." Maureen told Joanne, kissing her cheek.
"We can always call Collins, Angel, Mark and Roger, can't we?" Joanne questioned.
"Oh yeah." Maureen responded, feeling slightly sheepish.
At Maureen and Joanne's apartment, Maureen went online to find a dog shelter nearby while Joanne went to call Collins, Angel, Mark and Roger.
"A dog? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Collins inquired.
"It was actually Maureen's idea." Joanne told him, hearing a crash on Collins' end of the phone. "The twins giving you trouble again?"
"Yeah – they're more active than ever." Collins told her, referring to the two-year-old twin girls – Sara and Angela – the couple adopted a year ago.
"SARA ELIZABETH! NO!" Angel yelled.
"Joanne, I've gotta go – sounds like Sara's in trouble." Collins said. The two of them said their goodbyes and hung up. Joanne then dialed Roger's cell phone and waited for Roger to answer.
"Hello?" Roger's hoarse voice greeted Joanne's ears on the fourth ring.
"Rog? It's me." Joanne told him.
"Oh – hey Jo! How are you?" Roger asked, sounding a little more excited to hear Joanne's voice.
"I'm pretty good – Maureen and I might be getting a dog." Joanne told him.
"A dog? Are you sure that Maureen can handle one?" Roger inquired.
"She's the one that suggested it." Joanne told the rocker. "Changing subjects, how are you?"
"I'm really tired, but I'm good. Charlie and I miss New York." Roger answered, mentioning his partner of a year.
"I bet you guys do. What's life like on the road?" Joanne wanted to know.
"We're in a different country every few days – right now, we're in Spain."
"Babe, we need to go now." Joanne heard Charlie whisper in Roger's ear.
"You're right, honey." Roger whispered back to his partner. He and Joanne finished up their conversation before hanging up.
Joanne then called Mark and had a very long conversation with him – he was teaching photography at the high school where he and his wife worked and four kids attended.
"They've got to be getting older now – how old are they?" Joanne inquired.
"Katie's a senior, Taylor is in eleventh grade, Alyssa is in tenth grade and Brad is a freshman." Mark answered.
"How does Brad like being the only boy?" Joanne asked.
"He doesn't seem to mind it." Mark answered.
"Oh, before I forget, Maureen and I might be getting a dog." Joanne announced.
"That's great – we have two dogs – a Labradoodle named Izzy and a Golden Doodle named Humphrey – Gina's allergic to dogs." Mark said.
"Why did you get dogs if you're wife's allergic to them?" Joanne asked, a little confused.
"Both Izzy and Humphrey are hypoallergenic, which means that they're bred so that people won't be allergic to them – it's the poodle in both of them." Mark answered.
"Where did you get them?" Joanne asked, getting a pad of paper and a pen to write down the information.
"We got Izzy from a breeder in Michigan – Acme Creek – I think. We got Humphrey from a breeder here in Arizona – Sugar Hill." Mark answered.
Mark gave Joanne some more information about the breeders of both dogs before hanging up.
"Maureen – I have some information about a breed of dog." Joanne told her partner, rubbing her sore ear.
"What's up?" Maureen inquired, turning off the TV.
"Well, there are two breeds of dogs that Mark told me about – Labradoodles and Golden Doodles." Joanne started, reading the information that Mark gave her.
"They sound expensive – that's why I have the ASPCA website pulled up." Maureen said once Joanne was finished. Joanne walked over to the computer and looked at the dog page that Maureen had pulled up. Joanne's heart went out to two dogs in particular – a brown mutt named Penny and a multicolored dog named Amber. Both girls had been abused and went from home to home. They were sisters, according to their biographies and needed to stay together. They had been at the shelter since last April and needed to go to a good home, otherwise they would be put down.
"Let's sleep on it and see how we feel in the morning." Joanne suggested. Maureen nodded and kissed her partner as they walked to their room and got ready for bed.
The next morning, Maureen and Joanne talked about going down to the shelter and taking a look at Penny and Amber. Both dogs had been in their dreams the previous night.
"I'm so excited!" Maureen exclaimed, looking over Joanne's shoulder as she filled out paperwork.
"Honey, I know – calm down!" Joanne told her, handing the clipboard back to the volunteer.
"If you girls would follow me, please." The volunteer told Joanne and Maureen. They got up from their chairs and followed her to the back room. Loud barking and yapping came from everywhere, like surround sound.
"Here they are – I set up a room for the four of you to get acquainted. If you have any questions, my name's Amanda." The volunteer told the couple, getting a purple leash and a blue leash. She then went into the kennels that were next to each other. She clipped the purple leash on Penny and the blue leash on Amber. Leading them out of the kennels, she handed Penny's leash to Joanne and Amber's leash to Maureen.
"Aww – they're so sweet." Maureen told Joanne as Amanda got them set up in the adoption room – a large room with a mural of animals painted on all four walls.
"I know." Joanne agreed, rubbing Amber's ears. Penny was in the far corner, chewing on a stuffed rabbit. Maureen went over to her, but didn't get too close – she didn't want Penny to bite her.
"Hi sweetie." Maureen greeted Penny, getting to her level. Penny playfully put her butt in the air, tail wagging wildly. Amanda thought that both girls had Labrador in them, with maybe some Irish Setter and Great Dane, but she wasn't exactly sure.
After spending ten minutes with them, Maureen and Joanne knew that Penny and Amber were the dogs for them.
"Okay – come by in two weeks to pick them up – they just need some last-minute shots and baths. Are you thinking of keeping their names?" Amanda inquired.
"Yes, we decided to keep their names - we don't want to confuse them." Joanne told her. Amanda nodded, completely understanding.
Two weeks later, Joanne and Maureen returned to the shelter to pick up their girls when they saw what looked like Benny, Alison and two young boys who looked no older than seven.
"Mrs. Joanne Jefferson and Mrs. Maureen Johnson?" Amanda called, startling both Maureen and Joanne out of their daydream.
"Coming." Joanne told her, grabbing Maureen's arm.
"Here are your girls." Amanda told them, leading Penny into the waiting area while a male volunteer brought Amber into the waiting area. Both girls' tails were wagging wildly as they sniffed Maureen and Joanne all over.
"Hello beautiful girls!" Maureen greeted the dogs, kissing both of the dogs on the tops of their heads.
"I'll come by in a week just to see how the four of you are getting along." Amanda told the women, watching Maureen and Joanne get the dogs in the car. They had passed the home inspection with flying colors.
"Okay – we'll see you then." Joanne told her, hugging the volunteer.
"Be good, girls." Amanda told Penny and Amber, watching the dogs stick their heads out the window, panting and looking around excitedly.
Upon reaching the apartment, Maureen and Joanne decided to take the dogs for a walk, just to see how they would do out in the open.
"Heel Amber." Joanne commanded, making Amber lower her head and put her tail between her legs. Joanne then gave her a comforting pat and watched Maureen with Penny – things seemed to be going well.
"Hi Maureen and Joanne!" the girls' friend, Laurie, called out, approaching with her dogs – Miniature Pincher named Bruiser and Old English Sheepdog named Dexter. Both boys did not like other dogs, so Maureen and Joanne needed to get Penny and Amber out of there without setting off the boys.
"Laurie, don't come any closer – we just got our new dogs today and we really don't want to expose them to other dogs just yet." Joanne told her friend, having Amber sit while Maureen had Penny sit.
After Laurie had the boys going in the opposite direction, Maureen and Joanne decided to get the girls home and feed them dinner.
"I love both of them." Maureen whispered in Joanne's ear. The two of them were on the couch, sipping wine and watching the fifth Harry Potter movie while the girls slept in their dog beds. Both women were huge Harry Potter buffs and had gotten Collins and Angel hooked on it. Roger thought that Harry Potter was okay while Mark's family was more of a Twilight series kind of family.
"For the seventh movie premiere, who do you want to go as?" Joanne inquired.
"I'm going as Hermione." Maureen announced.
"I think I'll go as Lavender." Joanne said.
"Sounds good." Maureen whispered, taking a handful of popcorn and ate it one kernel at a time.
After the movie, Maureen, Joanne, Amber and Penny went to the master bedroom for some good night's sleep.
Maureen and Joanne felt that their family was now whole and nothing could tear them apart.